House-sitter robot goes on sale

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Six-year-old Kenji Shimizu and his sister Keiko touch the interior robot 'Roborior' as it went on sale at the Takashimaya department store in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Worried about leaving your house empty while you go on vacation?
Japan has the answer: a house-sitter robot armed with a digital
camera, infrared sensors and a videophone.

Stores across Japan started taking orders last Thursday for the
Roborior - a watermelon-sized eyeball on wheels that glows
purple, blue and orange - continuing the country's love affair
with gadgets.

Roborior can function as interior decor, but also as a virtual
guard dog that can sense break-ins using infrared sensors, notify
home owners by calling their mobile phones, and send the owner's
mobile phone videos from its digital camera.

It arrived in department stores this week, but supplies are
limited. The robot is on display in a half-dozen shops, though many
more are taking orders.

"We've had robots before that were just toys, but the Roborior
can actually be put to practical use in the home," said Takako
Sakata, a spokeswoman for the department store chain
Takashimaya.

Such technology doesn't come cheaply. Takashimaya will sell the
machines, developed by Japanese robot maker Tmsuk and electronics
company Sanyo Electric, for ¥280,000 ($A3366) each.

"We received a lot of inquiries after the demonstrations,"
Sakata said. "Our initial plan is to sell 2000 robots."

Tmsuk has already produced a four-legged security robot called
Banryu, which is about the size of a large dog and sells for
¥2 million.